Managed co-hosting · San José

Airbnb co-hosting in San José

Primary residence.

Short version: Primary residence; un-hosted stays capped at 180 days a year, hosted stays uncapped; Business Tax Certificate + TOT registration; 10% TOT.

The rule in San José

San José treats short stays as an incidental use of a home: zoning code chapter 20.80, part 2.5, “Transient Occupancy as an Incidental Use to a Residence”. The home has to be your primary residence. That makes San José one of the more workable Bay Area cities for an owner who lives in the house and is away for long stretches.

When you are living there during the stay (hosted), there is no annual cap. When the whole home is rented while you are away (un-hosted), the limit is 180 days in a year, double what San Francisco or Berkeley allow.

Registration and tax

Before you host you need a San José Business Tax Certificate and a Transient Occupancy Tax registration. The TOT rate is 10% of the room charge. Who collects and files it depends on the platform; where the platform does not collect, the owner files it. Under our agreement the TOT obligation stays with you as the operator of record, and the monthly statement shows the taxable rent so the filing is quick.

How a managed San José home runs

We track un-hosted days against the 180-day cap and close un-hosted dates before you get there. With twice the un-hosted allowance of most neighbouring cities, pricing matters more here: we price weekday business-travel demand and weekend leisure demand separately, and every price change is shown on your statement.

Stays are capped at 30 nights. Guest messages, cleaning coordination, check-in instructions and reviews are handled by our team with the same AI that drafts every guest reply; refunds, disputes and safety questions always go to a person.

Before you request an estimate

Have ready: your San José Business Tax Certificate number, your TOT registration number if you already have one, the months you expect to be away, and last year's rental income if the home has been listed before. Tell us whether the home has an HOA; some associations restrict short stays even where the city allows them, and we ask for the rule in writing.

Our fee here

14% of gross booking revenue, all-inclusive, month-to-month, no onboarding fee. Cleaning and repairs at cost with receipts. Statement by the 5th. Full terms on the managed co-hosting page.

Sources (checked 6 October 2026)

• Truvi: San Jose short-term rental laws (secondary)
• Steadily: San Jose short-term rental rules (secondary)

Rules change and this is not legal advice. We check the current rule for your address before we quote, and you hold the permit and the insurance in your name.

Other areas: every city we cover.